Good morning! Let’s basketball.
The Bulls should reconsider breaking up with Derrick Rose
Good morning. We have that and more in Friday’s NBA newsletter.
AIN’T DEAD YET: Derrick Rose had a nice little explosion, dropping 29 on Russell Westbrook as the Bulls beat the Thunder, who have now lost three straight. This comes in the wake of a Brian Windhorst (video) report indicating that the Bulls are slowing breaking out with the former MVP. (Have they started slowly moving their clothes back to their mom’s house? Did they put in a change of address form in at the post office?) Windhorst’s report makes perfect sense given the strange dynamics involved. You do wonder if Chicago will change its mind should Rose have a few more games like this. Or, this could be just what the Bulls need to sell him to another team.
BANG! Dwyane Wade steals the ball, spins and hits a 60-foot buzzer beater! The Heat beat the Wolves, too.
MORE SCORES: Portland beat Memphis in the TNT nightcap as Dame Lillard dropped 27. The Blazers are 4-2 and in third place in the West. (Gulp.) Charlotte whooped on Dallas thanks to Al Jefferson and Utah beat up Denver.
EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE: I wrote about the suspension of disbelief in the Warriors force.
WATCH OUT, EAST: Bradley Beal is making the leap. That’s one helluva backcourt. I also enjoyed this Michael Lee piece on Beal The Oracle.
WHAT A TURN: Kevin Durant says Russell Westbrook is the best OKC player. He ... might be right? And Matt Moore argues that Russ is the No. 1 reason KD should re-sign with the Thunder. He’s not wrong, though Reason No. 1B is definitely Waffle Champion.
NOT ENCOURAGING: Stephen Curry factually claims the Warriors are better than they were last year. I’m openly rooting for 73-9 at this point because I’m so in awe.
SOME THOUGHT ON HASHTAGHAZI: 1. The Grizzlies need to settle down about the Clippers social media folks noting on Twitter that, while L.A. lost to the Warriors, at least they didn’t lose by 50. If you don’t want to be made fun of for losing by 5, DON’T LOSE BY 50. 2. That said, Zach Randolph is a national treasure. “I ain’t with all that talking and Instagraming and tweeting and bluffing.” HEROIC.
That said, the Clippers did discipline the person who made the #didntloseby50 tweet, which is abso-freaking-lutely ridiculous. Lighten up, Francis.
RIP SLEEVES? Paul Lukas of the famed UniWatch thinks LeBron killed sleeved jerseys in the NBA by ripping his off on Wednesday. I think the apparel companies will be able to spin this into a positive. Consider me optimistic about corporate profitability! Via REDEF.
SPEAKING OF SLEEVES ... Kenny The Jet Smith mimics LeBron by ripping off his own sleeves. Let’s just thank the Basketball Heavens it wasn’t Chuck.
MORE FASHION TALK: Derrick Rose wearing a shirt with his adorable and famous son’s face on it is flipping fantastic. As is Mike Dunleavy’s lounge singer suit.
COOL: Via Reddit, here is Mo Williams and LeBron pulling off an identical sweet play six years apart.
RICH RICK: The Mavericks signed Rick Carlisle to a five-year, $35 million extension. Happy rebuild!
TONIGHT: ESPN has Heat-Pacers at 8 p.m. ET and Rockets-Kings (yikes) at 10:30 p.m. ET. DeMarcus Cousins is still out with a strained Achilles. On League Pass, either the Lakers or Nets must win (in theory) in their matchup! The Raptors and Warriors try to remain unbeaten against the Magic and Nuggets, respectively. Wizards-Celtics could be good if Boston finds its way. The Morrii will duel in Pistons-Suns.
Happy Friday. See you next time.
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